At a Feb.
12 meeting, fairgrounds staff announced construction bid results for a project
aimed at turning about 65 percent of the facility into a “multipurpose
entertainment venue.” The four bids ranged from $11.2 million to $13.1 million
and put the project within financial reach after several years of planning.

“This is a
giant step forward for us,” said Steve Shewmaker, president of the 22nd
District Agricultural Association Board, which governs the fairgrounds.

The board
and fairgrounds staff have been seeking out a revenue-generating use for the
building since 2013 — eventually landing on the idea of a concert venue with an
approximately 1,900-person capacity. The venue will have a balcony area and VIP
sections. The project will also yield a beer tasting and exhibit area.

The
building will still maintain its offsite betting purposes, though to a smaller
degree.

Although
conceptualized as a concert venue, the site will host entertainment “of all
types,” including seminars, weddings or business meetings, according to Gary
Reist, the fairgrounds’ now former deputy general manager.

The 90,000-square-foot Surfside Race Place was built as a satellite wagering facility in 1991 to accommodate 5,000 people. As offsite betting has decreased, the building’s average daily attendance is only about 350. The 22nd District Agricultural Association Board of Directors is moving forward with a project to transform 40 of the venue into an entertainment facility. Photo by Lexy Brodt.

The current,
pared-down project now awaits approval of a $15 million, 20-year loan from the
California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (“IBank”), to cover the
costs of “entitling, permitting, designing, engineering and constructing” the
venue, according to the resolution approved 8-0 at the 22nd DAA board’s
meeting, with Director Pierre Sleiman absent. IBank’s board will be considering
the approval of the loan at a Feb. 27 meeting.

The loan
is also contingent on the Department of General Service’s approval of the
project, which Shewmaker anticipates should go through, with “no controversy.”

Shewmaker
presented the idea for a concert venue at Surfside Race Place in the summer of
2015, after the 22nd DAA had been exploring options for the venue
for over two years. Early ideas for a bowling alley or movie theater were
scrapped in 2014.

The 22nd
DAA has spent about $1.5 million on the project thus far, by way of
architectural, engineering and project management services from California
Construction Authority.

In an
email to The Coast News, Reist said he anticipates construction will begin in
late March, with the new facility’s grand opening to take place in March of
2020.

“I’m very
pleased with where we’re at, and finally after I don’t know how many years,
we’re finally going to get this thing going,” Shewmaker said.